The Cocaine Cowboy

At 23, Charles Cosby was just another LA drug dealer slinging rock during the inner city crack epidemic of the 1980s. By the time he was 24, Cosby was at the helm of an international cocaine cartel with millions of dollars and thousands of soldiers at his disposal. As the right-hand man and lover of Colombian drug kingpin Griselda "The Godmother” Blanco, Cosby was living his own personal version of Scarface—only his chick was Tony Montana and he was Michelle Pfeffier. His meteoric rise and inevitable fall are the subject of Cocaine Cowboys 2: Hustlin' with the Godmother, the sequel to the 2002 cult favorite.

When did Griselda Blanco first come to your attention?
Griselda was arrested in February of 1985 on an old indictment charge in New York City. I happened to be at home watching the news that day and they made her out to be an alleged billionaire who controlled 1500 subordinates. They said that at every sunset her wealth grew by a million dollars. It was amazing to see some shit like that. I never knew such kingpins existed, much less a woman, you know?

After that you immediately became a Stan. Your first contact with Griselda was a fan letter you sent to her prison cell, right?
I hear the term "fan letter” often, but it wasn't a fan letter. I reached out to Griselda just to show my respect. I actually received a phone call from the Godmother about three days later. She just wanted to know what my motive was. I explained to her that I just wanted to rub elbows with a legend. So we basically hit it off almost immediately.

Did you start off as a soldier in her cartel or were you immediately a top dog?
The very first time I met Griselda face to face she agreed to give me 50 kilograms of cocaine as a sign of her sincerity. Of course, the family didn't like it or agree with it, but she was a person of last resort. Whatever she said went, no if's, and's or but's about it. I would say after the first meeting I was not only in but I was at the very top of the food chain. I became her right-hand man so to speak.

Sounds like American Idol has a tougher audition process. Were you surprised by how quickly you were invited into the inner circle?
I was more surprised that she was allowing a black man to penetrate her circle, because Colombians, generally, don't care for black people. It's not just me saying that—it's a proven fact.